


The Right Answers

by acorn_princess



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Cuddling, Established Relationship, F/M, domestic fluff!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:21:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28198341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acorn_princess/pseuds/acorn_princess
Summary: In the midst of meetings and traveling and law-making, Katara and Zuko find a moment to face the larger questions of their relationship.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 60
Collections: Zutara Holiday Exchange 2020





	The Right Answers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lettersfromnowhere](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lettersfromnowhere/gifts).



Katara was late for tea. And she was never late for tea, not without good reason.

When she finally made it to their private quarters, she found Zuko meditating near the window. She almost burst right there, every thought at the tip of her tongue just waiting to overflow. But then she noticed the rays of light that painted him shades of gold and purple. He had swapped out his royal attire for a simple low cut tunic, and she caught a glimpse of the gentle rise and fall of his pale chest.

She softly shut the door behind her. “Hey,” she said, her voice low and timid.

He opened his eyes and the candles around the room flashed before calming, finding a rhythm with his steady breathing.

“Hey,” a small smile found its way to his face.

“Sorry I’m late,” Katara moved to sit beside him, but he rose to her and found her hands. 

“It’s okay, we can postpone it to tomorrow. Dinner’s soon, anyway.”

“No, no,” she shook her head and sat by the window, gesturing for him to move closer. “I want to do this. I haven’t had a proper conversation with you in weeks.”

Zuko raised his eyebrow. “Aw, you missed me?”

Katara bit back a less than playful response and extended her hand. “Come here.” He took it without a second thought, sitting cross-legged behind her so that she could settle into his lap. They watched the city of Ba Sing Se beyond them, a sight made heavenly by the setting sun. Near the center of the city, an array of statues were lit ablaze under the light. Each one depicted the heroes of the hundred-year war: Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Suki, and Zuko. Designed by Haru, the statues were made to honor the team and exemplify a step forward in the world. But Katara tried her hardest to avoid it, as she always felt uncomfortable with art made in her image.

“How was your day?” Zuko whispers into her hair.

“Good,” she sighs, “Just long. Really long. Everyone wants me to do something for them; look over their amendments, provide healing supplements, attend meet and greets? I’m just one person.”

“I don’t blame them for wanting a piece of you,” a squeak escaped him after Katara pinched him. “What? I meant because you’re a genius, that’s all.”

“Yeah, sure, okay,” she rolled her eyes and snuggled further into his chest. “What about you?”

“Long too. I’m actually going to have another meeting with Suki after dinner.”

Katara freezes. “Oh?”

“We have to go over security measures for the return to the palace,” Zuko’s hand brushed through her hair, “Which I know will go smoothly, as always. I don’t know why she’s so insistent ongoing over the logistics every time.”

“Hm.”

“But she’s been acting a little weird lately, hasn’t she?”

Katara’s brow raised for a fraction of a second before she pulled herself together. 

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, just a little… jittery? Like she’s not completely here with us.”

“She seemed fine when I saw her earlier.”

“Oh, is that why you were late?”

Katara felt an unnecessary blush rise to her cheeks. “Well, not really, I mean-”

“ _Katara_.”

Zuko’s arms fell to his sides. He breathed in a way that reminded Katara that he could always read her better than she thought he could. 

“What’s wrong?” 

The last bit of sunlight peeked over the high walls of the city, and it glinted enough to make Katara look away.

“Nothing.”

“Really?”

“Really!”

An awkward moment hung in the air, in which both parties knew Katara was lying but only one refused to admit it. 

“Zuko?” Katara squeaked. He didn’t respond, and Katara almost turned before she felt his hands find her waist. Her eyes widened. “Zuko!-”

Few people in the world knew that the powerful, brilliant master waterbender Katara could be brought to a puddle by intense tickling. But Zuko knew. (Sokka did too but stopped trying after Katara threatened him with an icicle.) He used his tickling powers rarely, but they brought results every time.

Katara fell to the floor in her eruption of giggles, trying and failing to roll away from Zuko.

“You’ve been lying from the minute you walked through that door!”

“No, I haven’t!”

“Has Toph got you two in some sort of pact?”

“No, no!” She shrieked and, in a last-second attempt of defense, she doused Zuko with the cooled tea from the table. He froze, and she jumped out of his grasp. Their heavy breaths filled the room. Zuko wiped his hair out of his face and Katara could see every insecurity flash through his eyes. 

“Why are you lying to me?”

She twisted her fingers to bend the water off of him and back into the kettle. “Zuko, I’m not trying to. I don’t want to. It… it’s just something I can’t tell you. Not right now,” she crawled closer to him, hoping he could see the truth in her eyes.

He lifted his hand to hers when she caressed his scarred cheek. “Okay,” he nodded. “Okay. I trust you,” he threw her a lopsided smile that made her feel warm and light. 

“Thank you,” she returned to his lap so that they could catch the last few seconds of the sun dipping below the walls. “Just so you know, I would tell you if it were up to me. Really. I’d have told you by now if weren’t waiting on her to tell Sokka-”

The two froze. Katara smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand as Zuko barked with shock.

“Suki’s pregnant?”

Katara turned to face him, disappointed that she couldn’t keep the secret but giddy that she could share it with the person she loved. 

“Yeah,” she said with a swoon in her voice. Zuko’s grin matched hers and he gripped her arms in excitement.

“That’s amazing! That’s so- oh, Sokka’s going to be so-”

“Sokka’s not hearing a word of this until she’s ready to tell him,” Katara pointed a finger at Zuko, not letting it drop until he nodded. 

“Of course.”

“Good,” she smiled, and he rubbed her arms as she drew closer to his chest.

“I’m so happy for them,” Zuko whispered with a smile in his voice.

“Me too,” she adjusted so that she could hear his heartbeat, “I'm so-” _jealous_ , she almost said. In her shock, she shifted away from Zuko who frowned at the sudden gesture. “Sorry,” she said quickly, “I think I’m just a little overwhelmed.”

“That’s okay,” he gave her a soft smile, which made her heart beat even faster.

It’s not that she never thought about having children. Ever since she was a child, she’s wanted to be a mother. She’s wanted to raise a child- _children_ \- of her own and give them life lessons and cook them sea prune soup and watch them fall in love and follow their dreams. She’s always wanted that. 

It’s not that those feelings had changed, but she’s certainly had to put them on the back burner. After all, she was helping an entire world recover from the war. Also, most importantly, she was only 22. Though she was getting further away from marrying age, she was an exception (at least until she raised the marrying age, which would take a couple more years). She helped win a war. She was an international ambassador, aiding nations in reparations while helping her home rebuild and obtain the supplies they need. She didn’t have time to raise children. And she didn’t want to make time for it, not now.

But she will. She got so caught up in her day-to-day life that she forgot to plan her future. As she watched Zuko fiddle with the tea leaves, she felt something unlock inside her, a new idea or a new path. Maybe it’s one that she had always known but could only acknowledge now. 

“You okay?” Zuko asked. She blinked, unaware of how long she had been staring at him. 

“Yeah, just… thinking.”

“About what?” He moved closer to the table beside them, reheating the tea kettle. She watched his rough fingers cradle the kettle until it sang.

“Do you think…” she chewed her lip, “Do you think they’re too young?”

He poured their tea into small cups, decorated in greens and golds. “No, I think they're at a perfect age. I mean, they’re not completely settled down, but they'll figure it out. At least they’re married so there won’t be a scandal.”

Katara’s mind went blank.

_Marriage._

Another stepping stone that she set aside and conveniently forgot about. How could she forget about that? How could she forget about marriage when she was in a _relationship?_

As her thoughts continued to turn, Katara was reminded that even though she and Zuko had been together for years, they had very little time together. Because of their political ambitions, they were always pulled away to other, greater purposes. They acknowledged the situation, and have spoken about it often. Everything had worked out so far. But would that change if they were married? If they had children?

Spirits, and how would the world react to that? There was a shaky response to their romantic relationship, but how would the people react to their marriage? How would they expect them to split their time? And how _would_ they split their time? Most of their relationship for the past few years had been long-distance-

“Katara? Are you listening?” Zuko waved a hand in front of her with an amused smile.

“Y-yeah,” she tried to blink away her anxiety-inducing scenarios.

“Still thinking about Sokka and Suki?” 

“Yeah,” she replied because it wasn’t a complete lie. 

“What about this time?”

She looked out at the dark blue taking over the sky, tiny stars beginning to reveal themselves.

“How are they going to work out their duties, a long-distance relationship, and a child?”

“They’ll work it out.”

“How?”

“I don’t know. Maybe they’ll take time off.”

“They can’t really do that.”

“Sure, but, they could try.”

Katara looked down at the barely visible tea leaves in her cup.

“What if they don’t want to?”

That gave Zuko a pause. He looked around the room, words forming in his mouth. “I guess, then, it’ll be a much more complicated situation to work out.” He raised his brow as if to ask if that was a satisfactory answer. But Katara felt something sink in her, bringing forth a question she wanted to avoid but couldn’t shoo away.

What if he didn’t want to marry her?

She was sure of his love, she always had been, but even she couldn’t deny how frustrating their situation could be. They spend most of their time apart, and they usually have to focus on politics when they’re together. There’s little time for vacations and personal days. It was not easy being with her. It was fleeting and lonely.

At that moment, they were two of the most important people in the world. They take that incredibly seriously. And with their massive responsibility, they could not allow anything to jeopardize the shaky new world they were beginning to build. Not selfishness, not greed, and certainly not a marriage with a great potential to fail. 

When she looked up again, his amber eyes flashed in curiosity. Inside, she begged him to read her mind. He always could, so why not now?

“What if it’s too complicated?” She whispered. The glow of the candles rose and fell like a heartbeat, shadows chasing across Zuko’s face. 

“They love each other enough to find a way.”

“But what if love _isn’t_ enough?” Her hands turned into fists in her lap. “We’re trying to rebuild an entire world, isn’t that a little selfish right now?”

“What-”

“We don’t have time to put ourselves first and think about the consequences later. There are millions of people counting on _us_. To right the wrongs that have been done to them and to hear them out and give them support and help them heal. We could ruin all of that by choosing love. We could ruin every treaty and law that we have set forth by choosing love. We could prove to them that things will never get better by choosing love and failing to ‘work things out’,” she bit her tongue but could still feel tears still pricking at her eyes.

Zuko watched her, dumbfounded. His jaw worked, failing to formulate full words. Then, Zuko took a deep breath and asked, “Are you still talking about Sokka and Suki?”

Katara groaned, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. She wiped away the tears that ran down her cheeks. “I’m going to go get ready for dinner.” She rose and rushed to the door, stopping only when Zuko’s hand covered hers on the door handle.

“Wait,” he said, breathless. She didn’t want to face him, but he forced himself into her view. “Wait,” he said again, and she could tell he was already formulating some sort of argument against her case. Much to her chagrin, this ignited a small spark in her core, because of course he would try to argue an impossible case. Especially for her. And she felt foolish for doubting that for even a moment. But she tried to push the feeling down because, honestly, _how would they even work?_

“You really believe all of that?” He finally said. Katara glanced up at him under her tear-soaked eyelashes before looking away to find her courage.

“I don’t want to, but what else can I believe?”

“You can believe in us.”

“Zuko,” Katara sighed and turned to him. His face was lined with distraught. There was a small pang of guilt in her chest for being the cause of his pain. “It can’t be that easy. It just can’t.”

“I know, I know,” he held her face in his hands, “But I can’t imagine it any other way.”

She frowned and searched his eyes. 

“How will we convince the nations to let us marry?” She asked sharply.

“I don’t know how, but we will.”

“How will we maintain a marriage when I’m away most of the time?”

“Sokka will build faster ships.”

“How will we raise an intercultural child in the middle of a reconstructing world?”

“I don’t know how, but we _will.”_

Something light tickled at Katara’s throat, something that made her want to cry and kiss him, but she pushed him away instead.

“You can’t just say that! You can’t just say that we will without concrete examples!”

“Yes, I can!”

“Why?” 

“Because I love you.”

Katara huffed. “Zuko-”

“I don’t have all the answers,” he started, “I don’t know everything. I don’t even know what I’m doing half the time. The only thing that has ever made sense to me all these years was my love for you. You, who taught me how to believe. You, who taught me how to forgive. You, who taught me that there are things and people in this world worth sacrificing for.”

He paused, his breath jagged and short.

“Which is why I know this will work. We don’t need a map or a rule guide. We just need to know how to believe. And forgive. And sacrifice.”

He took a deep breath, the flames of each candle rising with him.

“Katara, I love you. This will be difficult, yes, but I don’t think the world will fall apart because of it. Whether or not you’ll have me, I’ll spend the rest of my life by your side, supporting you and loving you. And, if you’ll have me, I will never let you go.”

Katara’s vision was so blurred that Zuko was merely a figure before her, but she could feel the warmth in his eyes and the comforting vulnerability from his heart. She sniffled.

“Was that a proposal?”

She just barely saw Zuko smile and shrug. 

“If you liked it, then yes. If you didn’t, then it was just a trial run.”

Katara giggled, and before she knew it, she was wrapped in his arms again. He rubbed circles on her back and she nuzzled into the space between his neck and his shoulder.

“I didn’t know you felt this way,” he said, kissing her forehead.

“I didn’t know, either, until now,” she pulled back so that she could look into his eyes. He raised his hands to wipe her tears away. “I mean, our relationship is so difficult. Not even just circumstantially, but culturally and politically. Are you really sure you want this? Being with me… it’s hard.”

Zuko kissed her nose. “Being with you is hard, yes, but being without you is harder.”

Katara’s head fell back and she cackled, “You are _so_ lame!”

“What? I thought I was being sweet!”

Katara kissed just to the side of his lips, and Zuko brushed some hair back from her face. 

“The real question,” he leaned down to meet her eyes, “is whether or not _you_ want this?” 

His face was masked for the most part, but with every twitch, Katara could see his insecurities from earlier reappear, with a million more hiding in every detail.

How could this man who was so easily led astray in his childhood deserve this? She knew that would be what people said. She knew that they would expect her to turn him down, to hold him to the wrongdoings of his forefathers. She knew that they thought he would turn into his father. Maybe he thought so, too. But he wouldn’t. Because she knew him. And she trusted him. And she loved him. Completely. 

Her thumb brushed across his lips before her lips followed, explaining her answer in a language only they knew. But, just in case he still didn’t understand, she decided to reiterate it with actual words.

“Yes. Of course, yes,” she said against his lips. Zuko began to laugh, and she did too. He held her, burying his face into the crook of her neck. 

“Um,” a voice interjected, “I don’t want to know what’s happening here, but dad’s pretty pissed that you guys aren’t at dinner so you should get dressed or something.” 

Sokka’s hand was placed over his eyes, speaking in the direction opposite of the couple. Zuko gently placed Katara down and she scoffed at her brother. 

“Sokka, grow up.”

“Well, after last time-” he started, but Katara cut him off by smacking his arm, “Ouch!”

He rubbed at his wound, glaring at the two. “Well, then what’s the holdup? I’m missing the appetizers, let’s go!” He stalked away with a pout. 

Zuko gave Katara a secret look, waiting until Sokka was out of earshot to speak. “I can’t wait until he finds out.”

“About what?” She bumped his side with her hip, “his child or our engagement?” 

Zuko’s eyes widened for a moment, a small gasp escaping his lips. Katara could feel the same reaction within herself. _Our engagement._ Zuko held her face in his hands again and gave her a fierce kiss, pulling away right when her knees were about to give out.

“Both,” he grinned. Katara knew she mirrored him because she knew she felt the same joy he did. Because she knew him and he knew her and, together, they could figure anything out. 

**Author's Note:**

> I had so much fun writing this!! Katara has so many thoughts in her head and such a large weight on her shoulders, so I really wanted to find a moment where Zuko was able to reassure her. I'm not sure if I had enough cuddling in here but I hope you enjoy it lettersfromnowhere ! (Also I'm trying to force myself to write in past tense again, so if you saw me slip up just ignore it lol).


End file.
